BILL NUMBER: AB 2528	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Gonzalez and Ting)

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add Section 102425.5 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to certificates of live birth.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2528, as introduced, Skinner. Certificates of live birth:
diacritical marks.
   Existing law requires that each live birth, fetal death, death,
and marriage that occurs in the state be registered. Existing law
charges the State Registrar with the execution of provisions
regulating these and other vital records. Existing law requires the
registrar to prescribe and furnish all record forms for use in
carrying out those purposes, or to prescribe the format, quality, and
content of forms electronically produced in each county for those
purposes, and provides that no record forms or formats other than
those prescribed by the registrar may be used.
   This bill would require the State Registrar to ensure that
diacritical marks on English letters are properly recorded on the
certificate of live birth, including, but not limited to, accents,
tildes, graves, umlauts, and cedillas. The bill would require the
registrar to develop procedures to include other reasonable requests
relating to names on certificates of live birth. The bill would state
findings and declarations of the Legislature relative to the use of
diacritical marks on certificates of live birth.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) A diacritical mark is used in the Latin script to change the
sound of a letter to which it is added and is used to distinguish the
meaning of the words in which those letters appear.
   (b) These changes are significant, especially when considering the
proper pronunciation and meaning of a person's name.
   (c) The act of naming a child is often a significant moment for a
family, and diacritical marks in a family name convey importance both
in meaning and familial or cultural traditions.
   (d) It is in the best interest of the state to make reasonable
accommodations to parents' wishes when providing their child with a
legal name, including the wish to pass on familial or culturally
significant spellings and meanings.
  SEC. 2.  Section 102425.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
   102425.5.  The State Registrar shall ensure that diacritical marks
on English letters are properly recorded on the certificate of live
birth, including, but not limited to, accents, tildes, graves,
umlauts, and cedillas. The registrar shall develop procedures to
include other reasonable requests relating to names on certificates
of live birth.